Kochi: Around 2.4 lakh farmers in the state, who are beneficiaries of the Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi initiative, have been denied payment under the scheme as their bank accounts were found to be invalid.

Thrissur district is the worst-hit in terms of the number of farmers who have been denied support with 34,689, followed by 21,656 in Alappuzha and 20,846 in Thiruvananthapuram.

The Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi is a scheme where small farmers with up to two hectares of agricultural land will get Rs 6,000 in their account every year in three instalments.

There are a total of 23.4 lakh farmers in the state. Recently, the central government had decided that the benefits of the scheme would only be given to those whose bank accounts are linked with their Aadhaar.

The Centre has distributed Rs 311 crore to the accounts of farmers who have done Aadhaar seeding in the state between April and July.

The Centre has tasked the Postal Department to help farmers link their bank accounts to Aadhaar.

Farmers who open an account with the India Post Payment Bank before September 30 will receive the amount for October along with their delayed instalments.

Farmers can approach their nearest post office or postman with their Aadhaar number, mobile phone to receive the OTP (One-Time Password) and Rs 200 to open the account.